South Korea’s SEOUL — As tensions between the rivals rise over North Korea’s allegation that South Korea flew drones over its territory, South Korea said Monday it has seen indications that North Korea is getting ready to demolish the northern portions of inter-Korean highways that are no longer in use.
Destroying the roads would be consistent with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s efforts to sever relations with South Korea, officially designate it as his main adversary, and give up on the North’s long-standing goal of peaceful Korean unification.
Kim Yo Jong, Kim’s sister and top official, used extremely mocking language while referring to the South Korean military as “dregs” and “mongrels tamed by Yankees.” On Monday, she made reference to “the master of those dogs.”
The South Korean military said earlier Monday that it was monitoring a number of actions in North Korea that seemed to be preludes to tearing down the roadways, including the installation of screens.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff spokeswoman for South Korea, Lee Sung Joon, stated at a briefing that “they have put screens on the roads and are working behind those screens, preparing to blow up the roads.” According to him, the demolitions might begin as early as Monday.
According to Lee, the South Korean military thinks North Korea would launch a space rocket, which the United Nations considers to be a covert test of long-range missile capability, among other provocations.
The extent of the roadways that North Korea would demolish is unknown.
The two Koreas reconnected two road routes and two rail tracks over their heavily militarised border during the previous period of inter-Korean detente in the 2000s. However, as the Koreas quarrelled over North Korea’s nuclear program and other matters, their operations were eventually halted one by one.